Editing Harp (section)

{{short description|Plucked string instrument}}
{{other uses}}
{{pp-move}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox instrument
| name = Harp
| image = Harp.png
| image_capt = A medieval harp (left) and a single-action pedal harp (right)
| background = string
| hornbostel_sachs = 322–5
| hornbostel_sachs_desc = Composite [[chordophone]] sounded by the [[pizzicato|bare fingers]]
| range = [[File:Range of harp.JPG|150px|center]]<div align=center>([[pedal harp|modern pedal harp]])<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Black |first1=Dave |title=Essential Dictionary of Orchestration |last2=Gerou |first2=Tom |publisher=Alfred Publishing Co. |year=1998 |isbn=0-7390-0021-7}}</ref></div>
| related = * [[Angular harp]]
* [[Arched harp]]
* [[Claviharp]]
* [[Konghou]] (Chinese/Korean)
* [[Pedal harp]]
* [[Triple harp]] (Baroque era)
* [[Celtic harp]] (Medieval era)
* [[Medieval harp]] 
* [[Epigonion]]
* [[Lyre]]
* [[Yazh]]
* [[Zither]]
* [[Chang (instrument)]]
}}

The '''harp''' is a [[stringed musical instrument]] that has individual [[string (music)|strings]] running at an angle to its [[sound board (music)|soundboard]]; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or concerts. Its most common form is triangular in shape and made of wood. Some have multiple rows of strings and pedal attachments.

Ancient depictions of harps were recorded in [[Mesopotamia]] (now [[Iraq]]), [[Iran|Persia]] (now [[Iran]]) and [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]], and later in [[India]] and [[China]]. By [[medieval times]] harps had spread across Europe. Harps were found across the Americas where it was a popular [[Folk music|folk]] tradition in some areas. Distinct designs also emerged from the African continent. Harps have symbolic political traditions and are often used in logos, including in [[Ireland]].

Historically, strings were made of [[sinew]] (animal tendons).<ref name=Lawergrenharp>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Harp |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] |url=http://www.iranica.com/articles/harp |last=Lawergren |first=Bo |date=12 December 2003 |access-date=21 July 2011 |archive-date=15 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815034237/http://www.iranica.com/articles/harp |url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref name=xiejin>{{Cite web |last=Xie Jin |title=Reflection upon Chinese Recently Unearthed Konghous in Xin Jiang Autonomous Region |url=https://musicology.cn/news/news_299.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304083704/https://musicology.cn/news/news_299.html |archive-date=4 March 2016 |publisher=Musicology Department, Shanghai Conservatory of Music, China |quote=The [[konghou]]s in Xinjiang ...skin cover...one string has been found. It is made of ox tendon...}}</ref> Other materials have included [[catgut|gut]] (animal intestines),<ref name="gutplantfiber">{{Cite web |title=Ngombi (arched Harp) Fang/Kele people 19th century |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/502965 |website=Metropolitan Museum of Art}}</ref> plant fiber,<ref name=gutplantfiber /> braided hemp,<ref>{{Cite web |title=lyre; harp |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_Af-4416 |website=The British Museum |quote=It has four (Hemp) strings and two hide thongs}}</ref> cotton cord,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Saùng-Gauk Burmese 19th century |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/502040 |website=Metropolitan Museum of Art}}</ref> silk,<ref name="si">{{Cite book |last=Williamson |first=Robert M. |url=https://archive.org/details/sciencestringins00ross |title=The Science of String Instruments |date=2010 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-4419-7110-4 |editor-last=Thomas D. Rossing |pages=[https://archive.org/details/sciencestringins00ross/page/n176 167]–170 |url-access=limited}}</ref> nylon,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ngombi Tsogo mid-20th century |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/504481 |website=Metropolitan Museum of Art}}</ref> and wire.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ARCHED HARP OR BOW HARP |url=https://collections.ed.ac.uk/mimed/record/49737 |website=The University of Edinburgh, Musical Instruments Museums Edinburgh |quote=5 wire strings attached to lateral pegs in neck and attached at lower end to perforated wooden plaque anchored into the belly}}</ref>

In pedal harp scores, [[double flats]] and [[double sharps]] should be avoided whenever possible.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Harp {{!}} Introduction |url=https://timbreandorchestration.org/isfee/extreme-orchestration/harp/introduction |access-date=2025-02-13 |website=Timbre and Orchestration Resource |language=en-US}}</ref>